Dan’s delight at Bisley show

JERSEY shooter Dan Richardson is positive and upbeat after narrowly missing out on becoming Jersey’s first-ever winner of the prestigious Queen’s Prize at Bisley on Saturday, writes Andy Bradshaw.

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Jersey's Dan Richardson deep in thought on the ranges at Bisley last weekend Picture: National Rifle Association UK (22154349)

The 31-year-old lawyer missed out on the trophy by two points to place seventh overall after the last 100 shooters competed over the 900 and 1,000-yard distances at the 149th Imperial Meeting in Surrey.

‘Seventh is my best-ever finish. I was 11th in 2016 when I scored 293 and the winner got 297.

‘There’s no way I’m disappointed at all. You can cling on to what might have been, but I’m really happy with my performance.

‘Conditions were the hardest ever, the wind was gusting 30 to 35 knots and holding steady around 20 to 25 knots.

‘It meant aiming 12 feet wide through the wind sight and I was happy to be hitting the target.’

Richardson put one round into the No 1 ring and it probably cost him victory.

The Commonwealth Games marksman added: ‘There’s no point dwelling on that shot, I was lucky just to hit the target with that shot at all.

‘I’m delighted with the way I shot, I had ten bulls, two 4s, two 3s and the 1; it’s not just the 1 that I missed out on, but the 4s and 3s as well.

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‘I had more bulls than anyone else and many of the ‘’big name’’ shooters congratulated me on how fantastic I’d done, because many regarded the conditions as the most difficult in living memory.

‘My grouping [of shots] was good, but I had my fair share of luck as well.

‘I think 900 yards cost me; six or seven of my shots were half to a minute out [wind speed adjustment] and had three or four not been, it would have been a different story overall.’

Saturday was certainly a day of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’, with lots of stories to tell in the difficult conditions.

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The wind whipped through from the left requiring shooters to fire, with up to 22 minutes of wind on their sights and manage the changes with a bracket of eight minutes.

Had the competitors not allowed for the wind, or fired on gusts, their shots would have deviated up to five metres to the right of centre.

There were accomplished internationals in the final who fired well but failed to read the wind and get all their shots on target.

Richardson, however, mastered the elements, placing ahead of former triple World champion Ant Ringer.

Richardson, who will captain the Channel Islands team at the World Championships in New Zealand next February, was in the Queen’s final for the sixth time.